Buffy the Vampire Slayer: After the Gift Recieved
by SapphiX
Summary: A short story based on the aftermath of The Gift, including members from Angel Investigations, and Faith, and what may have went through the head of Giles at that time


**Buffy the Vampire Slayer: After the Gift Received**

**Death is Your Gift**

She dived,

The Pain, the equal equivalent to being blasted with a 100, 000, 000 volts of lightning, while being burnt, by lava. She couldn't think. Not clearly, but in the eye of her mind, in her memory she saw them all, heard their voices.

Their screams as blasts of energy erupted from Glory's work.

And then suddenly, it all began to fade. Every stab of pain became more and more distant to her, she was not afraid. She was not sad. She knew they'd be safe now. Her friends...Her family.

This was it,

She'd done her duty.

And Now...

It was time to go, but they were alright. She knew they'd be alright.

Dawn...

Her little sister,

Giles...

Her father,

Willow, and Xander...

Her best friends, her rocks, her support.

Anya and Tara...

Loving sisterly figures,

Spike...

Her right hand man,

She saw them clearly in her vision even as it faded; she felt her shell jerk back.

"_Death is your Gift...Death is your Gift...You are full of Love..."_

Now she knew, she knew now what she had meant. The First Slayer. Buffy was full of Love, and now she knew, now she had proved it, she had given her Gift, she had given her ultimate Gift, the only one she had to offer, and she had given it too her sister. And she was Okay.

Death is your Gift...

Not, the Fatal Hit...

The Slaying,

Killing,

No, none of it...

Death was her Gift...

She had Love to give...

_Her_ Death was _Her_ Gift,

And in giving this Gift of Death,

She had saved her Sisters Life...

Death is her Gift...

No, Not Death.

Life. She had given her sister Life,

And, she was free

Finally the pain began to fade, a single tear rolled down Buffy's cheek and then, she whispered a soul Goodbye to them all and then...

All was Dark.

She was floating. She was free.

**A Fathers Love**

"_Into Each Generation a Slayer is born:_

_One Girl in all the World,_

_A Chosen one. _

_She alone will wield the Strength and the Skill to fight the Vampires, Demons, and the Forces of Darkness; _

_To stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. _

_She is the Slayer"_

He watched in horror as the energy shrank and swirled out of existence. And just like that. It all ceased. The quakes, the blasts of energy, the creatures bleeding through the dimensions into Earth.

Dawn was dead.

Buffy would be devastated. Of course, she was her sister.

He felt a stab of pain, he loved Dawn.

In the short time he'd known her; the monks had crammed a lifetime of memories into his head. Into everyone's head and now she was?

Giles watched as her body fell from the air into a pile of junk with a loud _**THUD**_.

The sound made him feel sick to his stomach. He felt all of his energy drain, as he walked past the headless Buffybot, and then he saw Willow, Tara, Xander carrying Anya, and Spike gathering on the scene, he looked up to the tower and saw someone limping down. Buffy. He walked on and then froze.

His heart beating ten to the thousand. And then stopping all together, before repeating. Had he just caught the glimpse of a white jumper lay in that pile. A glimpse of blonde hair.

No...

No, surely not...

Surely.

No, Not Her.

Not...

Oh God.

Willow collapsed against Tara with a loud cry of anguish, Saw Xander freeze with a feebly stirring Anya in his arms, and then, he saw in the corner of his eye as he slowly walked forwards, axe still in his hand hanging loosely at his side, Spike collapse to the floor. No. Please no.

His heart was screaming at him. Don't look. Don't look. If you look its true.

If you look then she's really.

SHUT UP! He screamed internally.

But there was no denying it. Not when he heard the cries of Spike. He then stopped only feet from her broken form. He heard steps coming from the tower, and his heart missed a beat. Buffy? Maybe it wasn't too late.

He looked over shoulder hopefully.

Maybe-

Dawn? She _was_ alive; Buffy must have found another way. Though he knew better than to dwell on such things, he expected to see Buffy any second now. Any moment now she'd strut down those steps spouting a one liner of victory; her huge smile would tell him otherwise.

He then turned back to the body before him.

Then who was this?

If Buffy was on her way down, right this second, and if dawn was alive, then who in God's name was this poor girl?

He looked over his shoulder again; his head pleading_ 'come on Buffy where are you?' _He watched as Dawn found the scene and froze halfway down the final set of steps, two cuts in her side, her feet covered in her own blood and likely cold against the metal.

Any second now.

She'd be following. He just wished Spike, and Willow would stop crying so loudly. He stood there frozen staring at the girl.

He didn't dare to take another step.

If he did, then he knew that no matter what his heart screamed at him, it would be true. Finally he looked up at the tower and yelled "BUFFY! BUFFY COME DOWN HERE! YOU'VE PROVED YOU'RE POINT NOW PLEASE!" He felt Xander close in beside him "Giles"

"No, I don't want to hear it, I-I refuse to hear dammit" he snapped at Xander shrugging away Anya's legs "and for heaven's sake Xander please refrain from using Anya as a battering ram".

"Giles" Xander said again, trying to be strong.

Silly Xander, there was no need, Buffy was just...

Giles through down the axe and swooped down beside Buffy and lifted her head into his arms, the way a father held a newborn baby, and looked into her face. She was cold.

"Buffy" he whispered and shook her gently, "Come on now Buffy, you have had you're fun but now its time to wake up and take a bow or have honour or something—Willow! Spike! WILL YOU BOTH BE QUIET! PLEASE!" he snapped rounding on them. "Mr. Giles" Tara said more gently as Willow buried her head into her lovers shoulder, her knees ready to give way. "NO!" he stated, "no Tara, you don't know her like _we_ do, she's just—"

He turned back to Buffy and shook her "Buffy, Buffy this isn't up for debate, now for God's sake do as you're told for once and get up" he shook her again, everything else faded to nothing.

"Please get up, Buffy?"

"_Into Each Generation a Slayer is born:_

_One Girl in all the World,_

_A Chosen one. _

_She alone will wield the Strength and the Skill to fight the Vampires, Demons, and the Forces of Darkness"_

"Buffy, just get up, we have to home, we can go and get, doughnuts, new outfits and all the other stupid silly little things you like to do, but just please—Please get up" He'd failed her, she did not stir.

And t was his own fault.

First Jenny,

Then Joyce,

And now...Buffy, his Slay—

...

...

...His daughter, the girl he classed as his daughter.

The girl he looked at, and classed as, and loved as his own daughter.

But now their relationship had ended the same way all Slayer/Watcher relationships did. With her untimely passing. With _her_ death. And it was_ his_ fault.

He shook her again more feebly this time, and finally broke down _"Buffy...Buffy...Bu..."_

**She Saved the World...Allot**

They found a Beautiful spot for her.

Somewhere in the clearing of the forest, they had acquired a coffin, and headstone and buried her in secret.

They had waited until the cover of night, so as not to be disturbed.

Willow and Tara had cast a spell that created countless tiny stars floating in the air above the scene, casting twinkling light down on the burial. They could hear distant thunder so they knew that rain was coming and they wanted the stars to see Buffy.

To watch her and guide her so she wouldn't get lost.

Everyone was there,

Giles.

Dawn.

Willow.

Tara.

Xander.

Anya.

And even Spike.

But more had shown up. Willow had gone to L.A. to tell Angel, he had insisted upon returning with her, so did Cordelia Chase, and Wesley Wyndem Pryce. They all stood there and watched the coffin, the words of a Priest they had brought through-_Special Means-_ Only slightly registering as it truly sank in.

Spike walked up and placed a huge bouquet of roses on the coffin, and then pulled from his pocket a taped up dollar bill, Buffy had torn up in front of him, he'd kept it. No one said anything.

Angel was next accompanied by Cordelia, and Wesley, he too placed some flower on her coffin, Wesley said nothing, feeling he had no true right to be here but also felt compelled too, after all he too was her watcher briefly instead he remained silent, head bowed, as Cordelia also placed a single rose on the coffin before pressing her fingers to her lips and placing them gently on the coffin while saying "sleep well" before turning away to return to the group with Angel and Wesley.

Giles walked to the foot of her coffin with Dawn, still all surreal. He still expected her to appear at an second now with an ill suited pun of some kind. He then cleared his throat and said in as clear a voice he could muster when the Priest had said what he had to say.

"Thank you all for attending, erm...I'm sure Buffy is pleased be the turnout, she's doubt standing among us right now, spouting inappropriate humour or something silly like that, Buffy was an extraordinary young girl, by far the best Slayer that has ever lived.

"W-we all decided, that instead of making loud readings and things like that, that we'd instead write Buffy a letter and place them on the coffin as it gets lowered, so with-without f-further delay, let's get on with it".

The coffin began to lower itself slowly into the ground, and Dawn placed her letter upon her sister's coffin and whispered through her tears.

"To my Beloved Sister"

She turned to Giles and broke down like a baby. If Buffy could see her now.

Willow and Xander stepped forwards next, and each placed their own letter from themselves onto the coffin, Willow had cried herself dry, Xander had held it in. He was trying to be strong, for the others.

"To our Devoted Friend"

Before falling back so that an upset Tara and a surprisingly grief stricken Anya could place a rose on the coffin too.

She watched them from afar, from the cover of the forest.

Staying silent.

She didn't want them to know she was here. She saw Giles step up and say placing something on her coffin as it finally disappeared into the ground, the twinkling lights above dazzling and beautiful. And she was left to wonder, had things gone differently, would people love her this much.

Could she have had a family like that?

How she envied Buffy right now? She was free, and no longer had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Sh-she saved the world—_sniff_—Quite allot actually, rest in peace Buffy"

In her heart she felt a stab of pain.

That look on Giles's face, it was a fathers grief. This was so not fair. Buffy had eluded death before, why couldn't she do it now.

After a while she saw, Cordelia Chase, the little stick Prom Queen lay her head on Angel's shoulder and begin to cry, Wesley—she felt the pit of her stomach lurch—held onto her staring blankly. Angel even while grieving had the whole brooding thing going for him.

Finally the three turned to leave.

Tara and Willow took the rug rat with them.

Xander, said something to Giles before leaving with Anya? That was right, right Anya?

Spike patted Giles on the back and the two shared a neutral understanding and Spike left taking the Priest with them.

He stood there until midnight before leaning down, placing a hand on the ground and whispering something she could not hear before he too departed the scene. The twinkling stars suddenly sparkled and created a beautiful willow tree, which hid the grave from harm beneath its protective vines.

When she was sure it was clear she approached the scene just as the rain began to fall.

She stepped through the protective curtain already soaked, the rain was falling through the branches and slowly she looked around before her gaze found the marble headstone. The ground had already sealed up. She read the stone three times over to allow it to sink in.

Buffy Anne Summers

1981-2001

Beloved Sister

Devoted Friend

She Saved the World.

Allot.

She was so young. She screamed to the sky angrily, she then, without really knowing why and as the lightning and thunder cursed the sky screamed again only this time it was her name.

"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

She screamed another grieved cry before throwing herself onto the ground before the stone and began punching and punching the ground, before she began to dig through the earth with her bare hands and then screamed "get up! Get up!" she demanded, "GET UUUUUUUPPPPPPPPP!" She screamed and resumed punching the ground "wake up, wake up, wake up!" and then with a final grief stricken scream she stabbed something into the ground her face buried in the drenched swamp like earth.

She recalled a dream; she recalled it like it was yesterday.

"_Miles to go, little Miss. Muffet counting down from 7-3-0" _

"_Is this your head or mine?"_

"_I have no idea..."_

Faith looked up slowly at the grave of Buffy Summers. It wasn't fair. She was so young. It just wasn't fair. She got to her knee's and looked at the stone with resentment and grief, not sure which one she wanted to act on, "You are so selfish B" she stated "You're the good, Slayer, I am the bad, I'm supposed to be where you are now, but of course you're Buffy always stealing the show aren't you, always the true Slayer, but I want you to know I am going to change Buffy, I know you hated me, and I didn't particularly like you, and I'd never say this if you were alive but I looked up to you despite it all, but I am going to prove it too you, prove to you, and everyone else, that I am not evil, that I am worth saving" she stood up slowly and wiped tears from her eyes and stared now at the stake in the ground "I'm going to do you proud I promise, but first" she turned away "I got to return to jail, and serve my time, then I want to make it right with everyone I hurt".

Before she left she felt a quick breeze, and some how she felt her.

Felt her presence.

She knew Buffy was there.

**Heaven **

I see them all now,

It feels just like a thousand years have passed.

I'm okay.

And they'll be fine too.

I look around,

Everywhere I look,

I see light,

I feel loved,

Safe

Free.

Although she had to admit.

She'd expected to see huge pearly gates.

Little babies with wings,

Her mother with open arms,

And cookies,

By God she wanted cookies.

But no...

No tables of food magically appeared.

She was not happy about this.

She wanted to speak to their superiors...

If there was a Their?

Out there.

But,

Even this did not make her feel uneasy.

How could she?

She was free...Alive even.

True, she was dead.

But more alive than she could ever have wished to be.

Nothing around her had form.

It was warm and loving.

And just light,

And even better,

Now she could fly...

I mean what Slayer...except the dead ones.

Could say that.

I am Buffy Anne Summers, and I am the freakin' flying Vampire Slayer,

Vampires Beware

GRRRRRRRRRrrrr ARRRRRggghhhhhh


End file.
